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I really like the tag battle arc and the characters introduced in it. The only reason this first part is the weakest episode of the trilogy is because it's more introductory material than anything. Still, it gives us a good idea of each team's special quirks. For one, Satoshi and Shinji is the ultimate nightmare team, which not only sets the stage for Hikozaru's "betrayal", but makes for a very interesting team dynamic in general. Yet Kouhei and Hikari are perhaps the most entertaining duo of the bunch. Kouhei is simply a hilarious character in general, from the various unexpected appearances that often involve perverted vantagepoints to his overall creepy demeanor and laugh.

Takeshi and Honoka are also a good duo, although they're the one pair I wish more was done with in this arc. After all, Takeshi never gets to do much of anything, and they could have really enhanced his involvement through Honoka and the fact that she doesn't find him completely repulsive. The battles in this episode are okay, but nothing special considering how they're brief preliminary matches. I do like how this tournament uses an array of NPC game trainer designs, however. Basically, this episode is a set-up for greater moments in this arc, but is still very solid.

Talk about the luck of the draw. This was a great episode. Paul just knows how to get Ash mad doesn't he? Paul just says "hmph" and Ash gets angry. Ash-kid he wants Chimchar to go against fire types remember?

Ash's team right now

If you think the Sinnoh saga has been the best saga of the whole show, copy and paste this into your signature! (started by FlameRose)

If you deny any sort of existence of Iris's hair, put this into your sig (started by 5ilVer)

I found the part where Slowking stopped Gyro Ball with Psychic helarious! But my favorite moment was when Magmar and Pikachu were powerfighting Fire Punch vs Volt Tackle. Magmar's "Oh sh-- expression when Chimchar came out of the ground was absolutely priceless!

One of the difficulties of daily writing for me is trying to remain sincere and not fall into the trap of writing to impress.

Well, on to this episode. Cartoon Network showed all three episodes of the Tag Battle arc in a marathon when I first saw these, so I tend to think of them as as one episode, even though I should not. The Tag Battle tournament is the second "side event" for our heroes (the first being the dress up competition won by Brock and Croagunk); it is also the "episode" I am not quite sure whether to call one of the 3 most influential ones in Sinnoh (I am sure there are two, the first being Cynthia's intro). Regardless, though, the Tag Battle tournament is AMAZING, and even if it has little impact on Ash in the long run, it is one of the best stories (if not the best) Sinnoh has to offer.

The intro of this episode does a world of good for Zoey, who redeems herself for her steely reaction last episode to Dawn's first round loss in the contest. Turns out, she was more sympathetic than she showed, and the result of that is Dawn finding herself being handed an entry card by Ash for the Tag Battle tournament (Ash and Brock already said they were going to enter last episode). Dawn is surprised that Zoey discussed this with the guys without saying anything to her, but Ash says it doesn't matter since the idea is a good one. Eventually, after being encouraged by everyone, she accepts the entry card from Ash. I wish Zoey had been able to express herself better last episode in person when she had the chance, but at least this off-episode discussion with Ash and Brock is something nice, too. Maybe this shows how difficult it is for Zoey to say something comforting when her habit is to be sarcastic and bossy? (Laughing) I never thought of it this way. One other thing I want to say is this scene is one of my favorite interactions b/w Ash and Dawn. Ash does what Zoey cannot do, and that is put on a smile while trying to talk Dawn into entering the tournament.

So everyone is in, and off they go to the tournament. When the pairings are done, Dawn is paired with Conway, who makes his first appearance in the dp anime; Conway is probably the second of Sinnoh's truly memorable rivals to have made an appearance in the dp anime up to this pt, with the first one of course being Paul. Speaking of Paul, that is whom Ash is paired up with. Brock is paired with a girl COTD, who lays down the law that there will not be any romantic thing b/w them (a depressed Brock is pecked by Piplup). Oh, I just forgot how amazing this episode is! When Ash finds out he is paired with Paul, Pikachu trys to make peace with Elekid to set an example for the two trainers and is given a cheap shot. Pikachu gets back up and is ready to unleash a thunderbolt, which Ash tries to stop and ends up taking the hit. So many great moments in this episode. Well, again, the pokemon of Ash and Paul make this rivalry work; we are still at the extremely chippy stage between the two, so hence Pikachu's and Elekid's "fight."

And then we get to see all 3 teams' 1st round battles; it is amazing how much the writers can fit into an episode when there is no real Team Rocket plot to eat up time. Conway's battling style is shown to be very technical; he provides the defense while leaving the offense to Dawn. Brock's battle is pretty fun as well, and in the joy of celebration he grabs the girl COTD's hands and then lets go as he remembers what she said. But she grabs his hands right back and says they are a great team. Amazing, entertaining stuff this all is. Then Ash and Paul take to the field (I'm ignoring what Dawn said about Cynthia b/c I'm not sure at all where that is going; that's something to watch for at the League), and the battling atmosphere rises to the a new level. Their opponents release a Magmar and Rhydon, while Ash and Paul go with Pikachu and Chimchar. Oh yeah! Chimchar is the main reason Paul is entering this tournament as he is trying to power up Chimchar's flamethrower by battling fire type pokemon (I think this episode marks the first time Chimchar is seen using flamethrower, which would be an improvement; for sure, though, Ash does remark how much stronger Chimchar's flames have gotten- Chimchar has put in some tough, honest training). Well, the battle gets under way with Pikachu's thunderbolt at Magmar being absorbed by Rhydon's lightning rod. That's no good as it leaves Pikachu pretty much reliant on Iron Tail in this battle. Paul, though, is able to implement his strategy for this tournament, as Chimchar takes a Lava Plume from Magmar to power up its flamethrower. It's still not able to penetrate Rhydon's defenses, though, and Pikachu has to come to the rescue with an Iron Tail. This brings things back to a standstill now, when the opposing team unleashes a combination that left me absolutely stunned when I was watching this episode for the first time: Rhydon uses Surf while Magmar uses Protect. I never imagined something like that would be brought out in an episode like this, and really I felt like the intensity of the match was befitting something I would expect to see at a Pokemon League (and I can say, having seen Ash's first battle in the Sinnoh League, I think the battle in this episode got the atmosphere much more right). Paul orders Chimchar to take the surf head on with a flame wheel, much to Ash's and Pikachu's dismay as they realize what that means, but it suits Paul's battling style: power battling, with not much dodging other than Protect. Ash puts on his thinking cap and, remembering the appeal Zoey made at the last contest, has Pikachu use Iron Tail at the base of Rhydon's wave to disrupt the surf, and then follow up with an Iron Tail on Rhydon to ko it. Chimchar and Pikachu team up then to knock out Magmar.

This episode is just fantastic to watch.

The reference to Zoey during the battle was not too bad, since the move was a "It fits!" thing and not a "Zoey's amazing!" compliment. And Ash made it work, so...

This episode was good. It was cool to see Ash, Dawn, and Brock participating in this Tag-Battle competition. It was interesting how Ash ended up being paired with Paul. It was very creative for Magmar to use Protect while Rhydon did Surf as a combination. It was cool to see Lava Plume used for the 1st time. Brock's partner needed alot of his help to get through the 1st round. Dawn's partner was definitely a very useful battler who basically protected her Pokemon and then attacked the opponents.

I liked that fact that Ash's Pikachu and Paul's Elekid still didn't get along here, and seeing Dawn and Conway slay that Scyther and Koffing was cool; I loved Conway's tactical battling style and then Dawn's smitten reaction after their victory. Holly and Brock winning their match was fun as well, especially since Holly was all enthusiastic about Brock.